cyclephotosProbably the best cx photography on the web2016-12-04T23:29:14Zhttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/feed/atom/WordPressBalint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=143052016-12-04T23:29:14Z2016-12-04T23:29:14ZSo, yesterday, I was talking about the number of spectators in Spa, how they crowd seemed to be a lot thinner than in previous years. Now, take that and multiply that threefold for today’s race. Admittedly, the Zilvermeercross race in Mol wasn’t part of any of the series, but most of the top riders were racing today, so the spectacle was there in theory. The question is how long can the organisers sustain the likely deficits in the current business model of cyclocross that heavily relies on the general public’s entrance fees. I really like the texture of the sand – both the colour and the texture of it was very similar to snow and combined with the rather cold weather, it felt like a snowy afternoon. I also find these summer resorts an interesting venue for cross races (the..

]]>So, yesterday, I was talking about the number of spectators in Spa, how they crowd seemed to be a lot thinner than in previous years. Now, take that and multiply that threefold for today’s race. Admittedly, the Zilvermeercross race in Mol wasn’t part of any of the series, but most of the top riders were racing today, so the spectacle was there in theory. The question is how long can the organisers sustain the likely deficits in the current business model of cyclocross that heavily relies on the general public’s entrance fees.

I really like the texture of the sand – both the colour and the texture of it was very similar to snow and combined with the rather cold weather, it felt like a snowy afternoon. I also find these summer resorts an interesting venue for cross races (the other one is in Lille, the venue of Krawatencross, in February) – the contrast couldn’t be starker between the it’s winter and summer uses.

It’s the first weekend of December and It’s hard to believe that the season has already reached it’s half-way point. Next week, two more races will follow, another round of DVV Verzekeringen trofee in Essen and the mother of all crosses in Overijse. And don’t forget, you can still order a copy of my 2014/2015 cyclocross album >>>

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=142442016-12-03T17:39:40Z2016-12-03T17:20:03ZThe Spa round of the Superprestige series has been one of my favourite races of the season since its inception, back in 2014. It’s a super-hard course, both the descents and the climbs. And then on top of that, there is that run-up, that is barely walkable, the one that looks steep even on the screen. Today was no different from the previous editions, with probably one exception: the crowd – or the lack of it. Spa is one of those races, where it’s really hard to get around, because the spectators are often flock to popular spots and create bottlenecks. This used the be the case at many parts of the Spa course, but not today. Moving around was easy, even during the elite men’s race. Whether it was the particularly cold weather or just another marker of the..

]]>The Spa round of the Superprestige series has been one of my favourite races of the season since its inception, back in 2014. It’s a super-hard course, both the descents and the climbs. And then on top of that, there is that run-up, that is barely walkable, the one that looks steep even on the screen. Today was no different from the previous editions, with probably one exception: the crowd – or the lack of it. Spa is one of those races, where it’s really hard to get around, because the spectators are often flock to popular spots and create bottlenecks. This used the be the case at many parts of the Spa course, but not today. Moving around was easy, even during the elite men’s race. Whether it was the particularly cold weather or just another marker of the general decline in spectator number, I don’t know. I hope it’s the former and not the latter.

Tomorrow will mark my first visit to Mol. It will be another ‘first’ for me this season, though many great races have been held there, I somehow never ended up covering it.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=142162016-11-27T16:42:29Z2016-11-27T16:42:29ZThe race in Hamme used to be a certain mud fest, while the old course was in play. In 2014, the race moved and while it still contained muddy bits, it stopped being the staple mud bath it used to be. That being said, it was still a fun race and today was the first time that the sun came out at the new course. There is a lot of rumours circling that there are less and less people come to cross races – I couldn’t judge today whether that’s true or not, it seemed there was a ‘full house’, but it’s a quite contained venue, so maybe it’s just fewer spectators crammed into a small-ish space. Next week another highlight of the season is up: that monster of a race at Spa-Francorchamps. The course is brutal, the surroundings are..

]]>The race in Hamme used to be a certain mud fest, while the old course was in play. In 2014, the race moved and while it still contained muddy bits, it stopped being the staple mud bath it used to be. That being said, it was still a fun race and today was the first time that the sun came out at the new course.

There is a lot of rumours circling that there are less and less people come to cross races – I couldn’t judge today whether that’s true or not, it seemed there was a ‘full house’, but it’s a quite contained venue, so maybe it’s just fewer spectators crammed into a small-ish space.

Next week another highlight of the season is up: that monster of a race at Spa-Francorchamps. The course is brutal, the surroundings are stunning and if my knee heals up by then, I’ll manage to squeeze in a bit of riding there, too.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=141822016-11-27T01:36:03Z2016-11-27T01:25:29ZZeven was my first cyclocross race in Germany and it was a great start. The organisers got most things right and created a good course out of almost nothing. The two, most impressive performances (at least for me) were of Tom Pidcock’s and Katie Compton’s. Both recovered amazingly after early setbacks and finished on the podium. Today was also the first, very cold day of the season, considering that I was running around in just a t-shirt at the Koppenbergcross, today was a sobering reminder, that winter is finally here. Which brings me to my, probably only, problem with the race. The podium girl. At this stage, I’m not even talking about the need for a podium girl at all. No, I’m referring to the fact that she was forced to wear a short, sleeveless summer dress – in sub-zero..

]]>Zeven was my first cyclocross race in Germany and it was a great start. The organisers got most things right and created a good course out of almost nothing. The two, most impressive performances (at least for me) were of Tom Pidcock’s and Katie Compton’s. Both recovered amazingly after early setbacks and finished on the podium. Today was also the first, very cold day of the season, considering that I was running around in just a t-shirt at the Koppenbergcross, today was a sobering reminder, that winter is finally here.

Which brings me to my, probably only, problem with the race. The podium girl. At this stage, I’m not even talking about the need for a podium girl at all. No, I’m referring to the fact that she was forced to wear a short, sleeveless summer dress – in sub-zero temperatures. While all the organisers and other podium invitees paraded in at least jackets, she spent long, long minutes in a summer dress – in the middle of freaking winter. To make matters worse, after doing the day’s first podium ceremony in a pair of fluffy boots, it was probably deemed that she wasn’t sexy enough and she completed the remaining three ceremonies in a open, summer sandal. I find it very sad that nobody among the organisers thought, that the dress was simply unfit for a cold, winter day, even if for a few minutes.

Rant over, I’m back at my Belgian base in Sinaai, the road trip with Kramon was straightforward and the fact, that tomorrow I’ll have to drive only 5 minutes to the race sounds amazing after today’s 5+1 hour trip.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=141782016-11-21T12:30:17Z2016-11-21T12:23:58ZIf you want to give the 2014/2015 Cyclocross Album this Christmas as a gift to someone you love, I thought it would be handy to know what the latest order dates were for pre-Christmas delivery. And to sweeten the deal, I dropped the price for Christmas to £24.99. Country Dates United Kingdom Friday 16 December United States Wednesday 19 December Rest of Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland) Thursday 15 December Order the 2014/2015 Cyclocross Album now! >>>

]]>If you want to give the 2014/2015 Cyclocross Album this Christmas as a gift to someone you love, I thought it would be handy to know what the latest order dates were for pre-Christmas delivery. And to sweeten the deal, I dropped the price for Christmas to £24.99.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=141632016-11-20T16:51:15Z2016-11-20T16:51:15ZThis morning, on the way to Koksijde, I felt like a pilot, nursing a big passenger jet in heavy turbulence. Violent gusts of wind kept pushing the car in all directions and the heavy rain made overtaking slow trucks even trickier. Me and passenger on this journey, Paul battled the elements while I filled up the car in Calais, but we never imagined that the race would be cancelled. The first bombshell was dropped around 9:30am, when they announced, that the juniors’ race would not be held. Half an hour later came the news that the U23’s race is facing the same fate, only to hear the news that there would be no racing today in Koksijde. While it was rather annoying, the safety of the racers and the spectators is the most important thing and if a race had..

]]>This morning, on the way to Koksijde, I felt like a pilot, nursing a big passenger jet in heavy turbulence. Violent gusts of wind kept pushing the car in all directions and the heavy rain made overtaking slow trucks even trickier. Me and passenger on this journey, Paul battled the elements while I filled up the car in Calais, but we never imagined that the race would be cancelled.

The first bombshell was dropped around 9:30am, when they announced, that the juniors’ race would not be held. Half an hour later came the news that the U23’s race is facing the same fate, only to hear the news that there would be no racing today in Koksijde. While it was rather annoying, the safety of the racers and the spectators is the most important thing and if a race had to be cancelled, Koksijde is the best from this perspective, as it means the least amount of driving from home.

The next weekend will bring the first double weekend of the season (for me at least), first the next World Cup in Zeven, Germany, then the Flandriencross in Hamme on Sunday.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=141112016-11-13T17:41:19Z2016-11-13T17:32:51ZI probably write this every single year, but I do love the Gavere course. Part of the magic is probably that the my first time here was really great, but I think the difficulty of the course is a great pull for me, too. And it is a difficult course, in many respects. It’s difficult for the riders, the descents are fast and rather muddy and the climbs are tough. But it’s hard for us, photographers. The race course is pretty compact and it means that even a smaller crowd turns it into a busy people-soup and moving around becomes a challenge. But I dont’ mind it, I just enjoy the racing and the spectacular venue amidst some magnificent trees. Next week is Koksijde, many US and international riders are due to appear on the start line, which is definitely..

]]>I probably write this every single year, but I do love the Gavere course. Part of the magic is probably that the my first time here was really great, but I think the difficulty of the course is a great pull for me, too.

And it is a difficult course, in many respects. It’s difficult for the riders, the descents are fast and rather muddy and the climbs are tough. But it’s hard for us, photographers. The race course is pretty compact and it means that even a smaller crowd turns it into a busy people-soup and moving around becomes a challenge. But I dont’ mind it, I just enjoy the racing and the spectacular venue amidst some magnificent trees.

Next week is Koksijde, many US and international riders are due to appear on the start line, which is definitely something I am looking forward to. More to come soon.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=140782016-11-06T17:41:35Z2016-11-06T17:33:24ZRuddervoorde isn’t at the top of my list of favourite cyclocross races. Not even top ten. I often find it shooting difficult, because it doesn’t really have great features, it’s flat, not very exciting, blah. And yet, today, somehow I really enjoyed shooting the race. Maybe due to the fact, that we have finally had some proper cyclocross weather: cold and rain, sometimes at the same time. Today was a day when it felt things clicked. Maybe, because I took a quick spin in the morning, before the racing started. Is strenuous exercise the key to creativity? 🙂 Next Sunday is one of my all-time favourite courses, Asper-Gavere and the magical forest. Really looking forward to it.

]]>Ruddervoorde isn’t at the top of my list of favourite cyclocross races. Not even top ten. I often find it shooting difficult, because it doesn’t really have great features, it’s flat, not very exciting, blah. And yet, today, somehow I really enjoyed shooting the race. Maybe due to the fact, that we have finally had some proper cyclocross weather: cold and rain, sometimes at the same time. Today was a day when it felt things clicked. Maybe, because I took a quick spin in the morning, before the racing started. Is strenuous exercise the key to creativity?

Next Sunday is one of my all-time favourite courses, Asper-Gavere and the magical forest. Really looking forward to it.

]]>0Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=140472016-11-01T18:18:27Z2016-11-01T18:17:56ZI wanted to start my blogpost with a bit of whinging, how difficult the new course is, how high up on the hill the new finish line is and how we have to climb up there at the end of each race. Then I realised that the riders had to do that six or nine times, depending on their races, so I guess I should just shut up. The new Koppenbergcross was really good, the fact that an uphill and a downhill section was next to each other, made our lives a lot easier. I did miss the long and technical descent, that long, snaking route feels like a bit more challenging than the new descent, but I don’t want to complain, it’s a cracking course and it would be great if we could see this course in rain and..

]]>I wanted to start my blogpost with a bit of whinging, how difficult the new course is, how high up on the hill the new finish line is and how we have to climb up there at the end of each race. Then I realised that the riders had to do that six or nine times, depending on their races, so I guess I should just shut up.

The new Koppenbergcross was really good, the fact that an uphill and a downhill section was next to each other, made our lives a lot easier. I did miss the long and technical descent, that long, snaking route feels like a bit more challenging than the new descent, but I don’t want to complain, it’s a cracking course and it would be great if we could see this course in rain and mud. However, we were joking at the press centre, that by the look of things, cyclocross will be one of the many victims of the global warming, as there won’t be cold and muddy races anymore, just sunshine and 20 degrees, through the whole season. The silver lining would be that this would maybe make cross eligible for the Olympics?

]]>4Balint Hamvashttp://cyclephotos.co.uk/?p=140122016-10-30T20:12:13Z2016-10-30T20:12:13ZFrench spectators are a bit like a mix between the Americans and the Belgians. They mainly cheer on only their own, but they cheer on all of their riders. They are loud and enthusiastic – as long as you are wearing the French rooster on your skin suit. On the other hand, as I mentioned yesterday, they move around a lot. There were a few spots, where people stayed at, regardless of where the riders were, but for the most of the course, there was a lot of running around – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd moving this much. It was positively mesmerising. It was a good day, felt like hot summer day at times on the sun. As much as I saw from the men’s race, it was a cracking race and Toon Aerts is a..

]]>French spectators are a bit like a mix between the Americans and the Belgians. They mainly cheer on only their own, but they cheer on all of their riders. They are loud and enthusiastic – as long as you are wearing the French rooster on your skin suit. On the other hand, as I mentioned yesterday, they move around a lot. There were a few spots, where people stayed at, regardless of where the riders were, but for the most of the course, there was a lot of running around – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd moving this much. It was positively mesmerising.

It was a good day, felt like hot summer day at times on the sun. As much as I saw from the men’s race, it was a cracking race and Toon Aerts is a worthy winner – after animating races early on, it was good to see that he managed to stay away to the finish line. As for the morning, it was exciting to see Tom Pidcock win the juniors’ race, though he seemed he barely broke a sweat.

I’m returning home for about 16 hours tomorrow, only to drive over to Oudenaarde, for a revised Koppenbergcross race on Tuesday. More to come soon…